With the guidance of Joshua's Speech Pathologist I have been able to work with him on his speech and language for the past three years. I go to the Vanderbilt's twice a week and Joshua and I get to play together in the basement. Some of the things we do together include reading books, going through flash cards, building puzzles, and playing sports. It has been a blessing to watch Joshua's personality blossom as his ability to communicate increases. He has made huge gains in the past couple of years, and he is continuing to work hard to acquire more speech and language abilities.
In a couple of weeks I am moving to Minnesota to work towards my Masters in Speech Pathology. I am sad that I will not be able to continue working with Joshua each week. As a way to celebrate Joshua's accomplishments, he and I went on a tennis and frozen yogurt date in downtown Holland.
Joshua loved playing tennis. We were on the court for over an hour, laughing and running all over the place. Joshua is very coordinated with his racket and we had some good rallies across the net. He had fun trying to hit the ball over the fence, and enjoyed pretending that he was in a very intense match with tons of fans cheering him on.
After tennis we headed downtown for frozen yogurt. Joshua was a little skeptical about this because he had his heart set on blue moon, but he quickly changed his mind after trying the frozen yogurt. He took advantage of the free samples and loved being able to have three different flavors in one bowl. He also got a kick out of all the toppings.
I loved spending the night with Joshua, and I am going to miss these times that we have had together while I am away at school. Joshua is full of joy and laughter, he is creative and he loves being active and playing sports with other people. His communication is essential for him to express his personality, share his interests, and form relationships with others. Joshua is the reason I want to become a Speech Pathologist. He has taught me so much, and I want to help other people gain the ability to communicate so they impact others the way Joshua has done for me. Although we will not be spending as much time during the school year I know we will always share this special bond. I look forward to coming back to Holland and going to family gatherings and continue to watch him grow up and enjoy life with family and friends.
Melissa Bieri (Joshua's cousin)
